Everclear is distilled from corn (maize) and is nearly identical in taste to fine-grade unflavored vodka, although it contains more alcohol. Both Everclear and fine-grade vodka are very low in congeners, which are agents that develop during fermentation or are added later and that lend flavor and color to whiskeys and other liquors.

Because of a legal regulatory definition in the United States, only the 190-proof version of Everclear can be designated as a neutral grain spirit.